1187 replies to this topic

[blahblah]

Jamiem, on 11 August 2012 - 05:05 AM, said:

Remember, we, on here on thursday evening had the 'exclusive'
The whatsonstage discussion forum is the best

Yep, whatsonstage is usually the first to hear news like this but sometimes its just speculation or rumors, though usually there's no smoke without fire. Baz Bamigboye's articles are pretty spot on and thats why others seem to be happy to quote him.

[jaqs]

I guess we'd lose those that are staying at the switch. Still I'll be happy to see the show anywhere.

[DanielWhit]

Probably, after the transfer I expect we'll see a lot of actors who can be hired at minimum rates with one or two carefully chosen (and still cheap) folk to pull in the punters.

And very few discounts, if it discounts in the Duchess (and the inevitable tiny margins) then I think we know it's in trouble.

[Jon]

A move to the Duchess doesn't give them much leeway if sales slip. We saw that Chicago didn't last long at the Garrick and that was likely a lot cheaper to run so I don't have high hopes for RoA at the much smaller Duchess but I could be wrong.

[DanielWhit]

They probably (broad strokes here) cost around the same to run, however remember Chicago carried on with their discounting throughout their tenure in the Garrick.

[Jon]

Can't see RoA being as cheap as Chicago and RoA on Broadway still hasn't recouped despite running over 3 years whereas Chicago on both sides of the Atlantic recouped fairly quickly.

[Titan]

The only way moving to a smaller theatre will work for them is if they sell every seat for its full value, if they end up selling at a discount rate it will end up closing sooner rather than later. They should have closed and launched a uk tour, would probably do ok on tour

[blahblah]

ROA on Broadway does a lot of discouning. Currently $89 for seats between $129 - $145 on Playbill.com. Personally i think Chicago had outlived its audience, as much as there are huge loyal fans, but not enough make it survive. It should have closed at the Cambridge and remained closed then come back into town in a few years, but the gap between the Cambridge and the Garrick was way too little. As ROA has only been in the west end for a relatively short time it might stand more of a chance than Chicago's move to a smaller theatre. Depends on the deal they have with Nimax, maybe a sold out Friday and Saturday at full prices will subsidise midweek performances at discounted rates. The atmosphere in a smaller theatre will probably be better too. I hope ROA does well if it moves (I say this as there has not yet been any official announcement, so anything could happen between now and then).

[Zippy]

ROA producers are not good at making official announcements or engaging with their fans in any way (e.g. on their Facebook or twitter).

[Its_Emily]

jaqs, on 11 August 2012 - 06:42 PM, said:

I guess we'd lose those that are staying at the switch. Still I'll be happy to see the show anywhere.

I really hope that if Rock of Ages does move, that it does well, its one of the best shows I've ever seen and I'd be gutted if it closed, but the Dutchess seems so small, and they'd be loosing up to 1000 ticket sales per night for a full house at the Duchess compared to a relatively full house at the Shaftsbury. I think even if it did move Jodie Jacobs would probably stay (I know very little about Equity fees etc though) because I think it would take more than that to make her leave, I have never met someone who loves their job as much as she does!